Unsaturated Soils: Theory and Practice 2011 Jotisankasa, Sawangsuriya, Soralump and Mairaing (Editors) Kasetsart University, Thailand,

ISBN 978-616-7522-77-7

Effects of shear box size on the strength for different type of silty sands in directof shear tests Effects shear box size on the strength for different type of silty sands in direct shear tests Reza Ziaie Moayed
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, International University of Imam Khomeini, Qazvin, Iran, reza_ziaie_moayed@yahoo.com R.Z. Moayed

Amir Alizadeh Iran, reza_ziaie_moayed@yahoo.com

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, International University of Imam Khomeini, Qazvin,

M.Sc. Candidate of Geotechnical Engineering, International University of Imam Khomeini, Qazvin, Iran, A. Alizadeh Amir_Aliizadeh@yahoo.com M.Sc. Candidate of Geotechnical Engineering, International University of Imam Khomeini, Qazvin, Iran, Amir_Aliizadeh@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: Previous researches were done on clean granular soils in order to observe the effects of scale factor on shear strength. In present paper the effect of shear box size on the strength of silty sand soils is studied using direct shear test results. To accomplish this purpose, Firuzkuh standard sand was used which contains angular particle shape. Three different silt percentages (10 %, 20% and 30%) were added into the pure Firuzkuh sand and tests performed on specimens in maximum compaction density and with optimum moisture content. Direct shear tests were performed with two shear box sizes (100 x 100 mm and 60 x 60 mm), in which the normal pressure and displacement rates were constant. Results indicate that the peak shear strength decreases as shear box size increases. Also increasing the silt percentages will cause decrease in the peak shear strength. KEYWORDS: direct shear box; scale factor; angular particle shape; silty sand; peak Shear Strength 1 INTRODUCTION The direct shear tests are widely used in geotechnical engineering in order to evaluate the shear strength characteristics of geomaterials. The popularity of using this simple apparatus is due to soils shear failure modes that relatively represent the condition where the soil in field has. The results adopted from direct shear tests considered to be straightforward. Despite there are some insignificant errors caused by apparatus inherent errors while measuring the applied normal stress and errors made by rigidity condition of top loading platen , or the peak frictional angle mobilized in horizontal shear plane that leads to smaller values than the frictional angle in the plane which contains minor and major principal stresses. The stress and strain conditions become more nonuniform by improper boundary mechanical conditions of the shear boxes, which can have significant effects on the measured strength and dilatancy characteristic (Mikasa, 1960; Jewell and Worth, 1987; Shibuya et al., 1997). Po-kai Wu et al. (2007) showed that specimen size and specimen shape has some effects on the shear zone and shear bands development in the dense Toyoura sand and sandy gravel so that affects properties such as deformation properties, dilatancy, peak shear strength and peak frictional angle. They also suggested using rectangular cross section specimens to more accurately evaluate the direct shear behavior of granular material. Previous studies (Parsons 1936 and Palmeira and Milligan 1989) on few sands in shear boxes with different sizes showed different results. Parsons (1936) tested Ottawa and crushed quartz showed a slight decrease in frictional angle with increasing shear box sizes, but Palmeira and Milligan (1989) tested Leighton Buzzard Sand and results showed no difference in frictional angle with increasing shear box size. Cerato and Lutenegger (2006) tested a range of sands varying densities and angularities, using different size shear boxes to determine the scale effects. They analyzed sand using digital image analysis techniques that treated particles as two-dimensional objects and evaluated the angularity ratio. The test results showed that the friction angles of well-graded angular natural sands and the angular poorly graded manufactured gravel pack, were most affected by specimen size and they suggested to do more testing to confirm the ASTM Standard 3080-90 minimum H/Dmax ratio of 6, because it should revised to increase to ensure the specimen size will not affect friction angle results. In this study with regard to angularity effect factor and in continuation of Ceratos (2006) study , Firuzkuh standard sand with three different silt percentages were tested to determine the effect of silt percentag-

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es and specimen size on the shear strength of silty sands. 2 PREVIOUS WORKS 2.1 Specimen size effects in direct shear test results Specimen size or scale effects were studied as early as 1936. Parsons (1936) presented test results for crushed quartz and Ottawa uniform sand which showed that larger shear boxes produced lower values of friction angle. Tests were done with very small normal stresses to obtain the failure envelopes (0.015 to 0.1 kg/cm2 or 1.5 to 9.8 kPa) that such low normal stresses in conventional direct shear machines would be unlikely. Results showed that friction angles obtained for the crushed quartz varied from 30.7 to 31.5 (Figure 1) and the uniform sand varied slightly more from 28.5 to 31.0 . Results presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Scale effect of crushed quartz and Ottawa sand (after Parsons 1936) Shear Box Crushed Quartz Ottawa Sand Dimensions Friction Angle Friction Angle L(mm) W Degree Degree (mm) 6060 31.5 31.0 120100 31.1 29.6 120200 30.7 28.5

Table 2. Shear box size effect of dense Leighton Buzzard sand (from Palmeira and Milligan 1989) Dimensions t* Shear (deL (mm) W (mm) H (mm) (mm) Box gree) Small 606032 92 50.1 Medium 252152152 182 50.2 Large 100010001000 10010 49.4 * t = Shear Zone Thickness at Mid-Height

Figure 2. Scale effect on shear zone thickness (after Palmeira and Milligan 1989).

2.2 Specimen size effect on shear zone thickness

Figure 1. Specimen size effect on friction angle of crushed quartz (after Parsons 1936).

Palmeira and Milligans (1989) results of dense Leighton Buzzard Sand tested using three different size shear boxes showed that there was no significant influence of box size on the resulting friction angles (Table 2). They also find that shear zone thickness at the mid-height of sample was significantly affected by the scale factor (Figure2).

The term shear zone means the small layer of sand that is involved in the shearing process and the area where mechanism of localization occurs and this zone consists of many shear bands propagate from the edges of the shear box. Shear zone has been shown that significantly affected by the scale factor of the direct shear test (Palmeira and Milligan 1989). Palmeira and Milligan (1989) used a technique to obtain the shear zone thickness by observing visually through the Perspex wall of shear boxes and by placing thin wires vertically inside the sample. The test results for Leighton Buzzard sand presented in Figure 2 which showed that the shear zone thickness in relation to sample height decreased with increase in the sample size in relation to mean soil particle diameter. Many researchers defined shear zone as a sole function of mean grain size, d50 (Roscoe 1970;

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Bridgwater 1980; Scarpelli and Wood 1982; Hartley 1982; Mhlhaus and Vardoulakis 1987; DeJong et al. 2003). If this were true, then theoretically, the same sands in different size shear boxes would have the same size shear zone thickness. Roscoe (1970) reported the shear zone thickness in simple shear tests observed about 10d50 and Bridgwater (1980) confirmed it theoretically using a statistical mechanics approach. Scarpelli and Wood (1982) observed using radiographs that the shear zone thickness was not constant along the length of sample and reached the value of 10d50 where the dilation had ceased. Hartley (1982) showed that shear zone thickness is 5 to 10 times the average grain diameter when boundary condition of the test allows the shear zone to develop. Mhlhaus and Vardoulakis (1987) using a Cosserat theorys plasticity analysis determined that shear zone thickness was about sixteen particle diameters. The shear zone thickness increases with increasing angularity and grain size, and it correlates with the strain necessary to obtain the failure (DeJaeger 1994; Kita and Okamura 2000). The mentioned studies on shear zone thickness used similar size shear boxes, which may cause similar values. Palmeira and Milligan (1989) used larger shear boxes and results showed much more values of shear zone thickness. Hight and Leroueil (2003) performed tests on dense Leighton Buzzard Sand in square shear box with different specimen heights in each test. They showed that increase in the specimen height relative to the width, increased the ratio of shear stress to the normal stress. The reason why different values of friction angle obtained in this study may be the height of the specimen that influences the normal stress distribution of the specimen shear plane, caused by the moment of shear force applied to the upper half of the box which is transferred to the specimen. Previous studies showed that it is important to take height of specimen into account to let shear zone form , and it is also important for shear boxes to have adequate length so that shear zone can fully propagate. 3 TEST MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM The sand used in this study is Firuzkuh #161 crushed silica sand. This type of sand has a golden yellow color and has a uniform aggregation, which henceforth briefly named Firuzkuh Sand. Firuzkuh sand has recently been used in studies in laboratory stress-strain tests and studies on cyclic loading and liquefaction behavior in the University of Tehran

and Amirkabir University of Technology (e.g., Ghahremani, M., 2006, Effect of Plastic Fines on Cyclic Resistance of Saturated Sands; Ghalandarzadeh, A., Bahadori, H., 2010, Study of the Cyclic Behavior of Saturated Sand Considering the Effect of Induced Anisotropy) and defined as a standard sand in Iran. Toyoura and Sengenyama standard sands that their characteristics are described in this paper were compared to Firuzkuh sand. Grain size distribution curves of the last two mentioned sands are presented in Figure 3. The curves show that grain size distribution of Firuzkuh sand is more close to Sengenyamas. Physical characteristics of Firuzkuh Sand and the two mentioned standard sands are presented in Table 3.

Figure 3. Grain size distribution curve of Firuzkuh sand compared with the curves of Toyoura and Sengenyama sands.

In order to observe the most effects of specimen size on shear strength properties, it is needed to perform tests on dense and angular sands. For this purpose Firuzkuh Sand with angular particle shape was used. Three different Silt percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%) were added into the pure Firuzkuh sand to observe how the finer percent of silty sands affects the important factor of angularity and its influence on specimen size effects. Specific gravity tests were performed in general accordance with ASTM D 854-92 standard test method for specific gravity of soils. Maximum and minimum index density tests were performed in general accordance with ASTM D 4253-93, standard test method for maximum index density and unit weight of soils using a vibratory table and ASTM D 4254-93, standard test method for Minimum index density and unit weight of soils and calculation of relative density, respectively. Laboratory compaction tests using Modified Proctor test method performed in general accordance with ASTM D 155709, standard

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Table 3. Firuzkuh Sand physical characteristics and comparing with Toyoura and Sengenyama Sands Sand Type Firuzkuh #161 Toyoura Sengenyama Gs 2.685 2.65 2.72 emax 0.943 0.977 0.911 emin 0.603 0.597 0.55 D50 (mm) 0.27 0.17 0.27 Cu 1.87 Cc 0.88 -

suggested normal stresses for larger shear boxes , therefore it is possible to compare test results of different size shear boxes with similar normal stresses. There are three different shear box types, showed in Figure 4. In this study, the type A was used.

test method for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using modified effort. Grain-size analyses were performed in general accordance with ASTM D 422-63 Standard Test Method for particle size analysis of soils. Specimens with maximum density and optimum moisture content were prepared by manual tamping using a small hammer. 4 DIRECT SHEAR TESTS Direct shear box tests were performed on each soil in general accordance with ASTM D 3080-90, standard test method for direct shear tests of soils under consolidated drained conditions for three different relative densities. According to ASTM D 3080-90, the direct shear box test has several particle-size to box size requirements when preparing specimens for testing. It is recommended that the minimum specimen width should not be less than ten times the maximum particle-size diameter and the minimum initial spec men thickness should not be less than six times the maximum particle diameter. The minimum specimen width to thickness ratio should be 2 to 1. Jewell and Wroth (1987) suggest a ratio of shear box length to average particle size in the range of 50 to 300. Three different shear box sizes were used in this study (300 x 300 mm, 100 x 100 mm and 60 x 60 mm). The first square shear box had a width of 60 mm and a depth of 24.5 mm (aspect ratio, H/L=0.408). The samples were sheared at a constant rate of 0.9 mm/min, which is consistent with the standard rate for undrained tests on sands. The second square shear box had a width of 100 mm and a depth of 35 mm (aspect ratio, H/L=0.583). In the two first size shear boxes ( 60mm x 60mm , 100mm x 100mm) five tests were performed for each density with five increasing normal stresses (108.9, 163.4, 217.9, 326.85, and 435.8 kPa) using a dead weight system. These applied normal stresses are slightly more than suggested range in the literature due to observe the most scale effects and also provide the

Figure 4. Three types of direct shear boxes currently in use (modified from Figure 4 of Shibuya et al., 1997).

5 TEST RESULTS The peak friction angles for each type of soil at maximum dry density in different size shear boxes were presented in Table 4. In some tests, the failure envelope didnt go through zero because tests were done under unsaturated conditions, so that little amounts of apparent cohesion might occur. This Phenomenon happens in some cohesionless soils, in unsaturated condition that particles bound together by capillary attractive forces. These forces in the water molecules hold wetted soil particles together to form a weak cohesion. Apparent cohesion can also be the result of particle cementation caused by mineralogy or thixotrapic action. Thixotrapy action is the result of previous high stress history. Accordingly the friction angles were computed from peak shear strength. Friction angles may show curvature dependence with relative density over a large range of normal stresses, as is noted is some triaxial compression tests (Baker 2004). In order to use medium to high range of normal stresses, the failure envelope consisted of a curve part in higher stresses. The friction angles were computed by considering the linearity of failure envelopes. There is another method for more accurately computing the friction angles. In this method, the average of hypothetical slope values between each consecutive points of failure envelope is determined as the friction angle.

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Table 4. Direct shear box test results using the peak shear strength Soil Type Shear Box Sizes (mm) 60 x 60 (deg) 42.46 39.18 35.35 33.27 100 x100 (deg) 38.88 36.06 34.51 32.76 Figure 6. Shear stress versus shear strain for each applied normal stress in silty sand I (tests using 60 x 60 mm shear box).

Pure Sand Silty Sand I (10% Silt) Silty Sand II (20% Silt) Silty Sand III (30% Silt)

The results showed that the friction angles reduced with increasing the shear box size. It is recognized from results that the scale effects on friction angles and these values decreased with increasing shear box size. The reduction rate of friction angle decreased with increasing the silt percentage. Increasing the silt percentages in silty sands can influences the role of angularity as a scale effect factor. The added finer percent of silt may also affect the shear zone propagation. These two effects that mentioned above can decrease the scale effects and specimen size effects. The shear stress data versus shear strain for each applied normal stress , for pure Firuzkuh sand and silty sand I , using 6 x 6 mm shear box , were plotted in Figure 5 and Figure 6 relatively. Similar figures for tests using 100 x 100 mm shear box is also presented in Figure7 and Figure 8. It is observed from these two figures that the peak shear strength was increased with increasing the normal stress.

Figure 7. Shear stress versus shear strain for each applied normal stress in pure Firuzkuh sand (tests using 100 x 100 mm shear box).

Figure 8. Shear stress versus shear strain for each applied normal stress in silty sand I (tests using 100 x 100 mm shear box). Figure 5. Shear stress versus shear strain for each applied normal stress in pure Firuzkuh sand (tests using 60 x 60 mm shear box).

Peak shear strengths for each normal stresses were obtained from direct shear tests using different shear box sizes and results were plotted versus normal stresses values , in Figure 9 and Figure 10 for pure firuzkuh sand and silty sand I , respectively. These

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two last figures indicated that slope of approximated failure envelope as a linear envelope , was harder for the 6 x 6 mm shear box , In fact the figures showed that the friction angle was affected by scale effect or specimen size effect , and reduced as the shear box size increased for dense pure sands and dense silty sands. The failure envelopes also represents that internal errors , like apparent cohesion, are less in larger shear boxes. It is obvious from Figure 9 and Figure 10 that shear box size had a significant effect on the peak shear strength in silty sands with different silt percentages. The ratios of reduction in the friction angle to the friction angle obtained from 60 x 60 mm shear box tests 60x60 , were plotted versus silt percentages in Figure 11. The Figure 11 showed that the scale effects were observed in both dense pure sands and silty sands , and these effects on the friction angle deacreased with increasing the silt percentage in dense silty sands.

Figure 11. Ratio of reduction in friction angle to the friction angle obtained from 60 x 60 mm shear box tests 60x60, versus silt percentages.

6 CONCLUSION Firuzkuh sand with different silt percentages were tested using different direct shear box sizes to determine the rates of the scale effect in silty sands with different silt percentages. For this purpose and in order to observe the scale effects or specimen size effects on shear strength properties Firuzkuh sand was chosen as the base sand for silty sands with angular particles , and also all specimens prepared in the maximum densities and applied stresses were in the medium to high ranges. From the tests results and their analysis presented above, the following conclusions were derived: Scale effects were observed in the pure Firuzkuh sand and three types of silty sand with different silt percentages. The results showed that peak shear strength decreased as the shear box size increased. The results showed that the friction angles decreased with increasing the shear box size and the reduction rate were reduced by increasing the silt percentages. So the tests indicated that the scale effect can be seen in silty sands but the rate of its effect reduces with increasing the silt percentages. It can also be seen from the test data that larger shear boxes can more accurately determine the shear strength properties of granular soils or cohesionless soils under unsaturated condition. REFERENCES

Figure 9. Failure envelopes for pure Firuzkuh sand with different shear box sizes.

Figure 10. Failure envelopes for silty sand type I with different shear box sizes.

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